Banbury made it 8 wins from 9 games with a hard fought 22-29 victory versus Marlborough.

Due to injuries and unavailability’s Banbury were forced in to 9 changes to the starting line-up from the previous game versus Newbury. There was a welcome return for club captain, Ian Isham, to the starting line-up whilst Loic Radegonde made his debut for the Bulls off the bench.

The opening 15-20 minutes were fairly open with both teams putting boot to ball looking for territory but neither team troubling the scoreboard. With the wind and the slope, the Bulls started to take control of the clash and took a deserved lead when George Ding weaved his way over from the edge of the opposition 22. James Miller’s conversion attempt caught the wind and went wide, 0-5.

Luke Hallam-Evans extended the lead for Banbury when he touched down at the back of a rolling maul. Conversion missed, 0-10.

Just before the halftime whistle Marlborough narrowed the gap with a try of their own. Jonasa Tabua breaking down the left wing before scoring in the corner. Conversion missed, 5-10.

Jonasa Tabua went from hero to villain when he was yellow carded for a high tackle. Tabua was lucky to be the only one carded after a number of high tackles went unpunished from the home side.

Banbury kicked the resulting penalty to the corner and Chris Davies recreated Luke Hallam-Evans’ try in the first half by scoring at the back of a rolling maul. Conversion missed, 5-15.

Will Grant kicked a monster penalty from close to the halfway line to make it a one score game when Banbury were penalised for holding on. The windy conditions making the kick even more impressive. 8-15.

Ed Phillips sporting the flashiest of new boots showed off all his skill and experience with a lovely dummy before sprinting his way over in the corner. Would he have been caught before the line in his old boots? Probably not but that’s the story we’re sticking to. James Miller kicked the hardest conversion of the day from the sideline to make it 8-22.

Tommy Elbrow drove his way over from close range to keep Marlborough within touching distance. Will Grant converting, 15-22.

James Page brought out the biggest cheer of the day when he finished a brilliant run and score against the posts for Banbury. Breaking two tackles before stepping the last man. Converted, 15-29.

Louis Tooth was shown a yellow card for Banbury after getting penalised for not rolling away one to many times.

Ben Wilmot drove over for the hosts under the posts to give the home side hope of a late draw. Will Grant quickly drop kicking the conversion, 22-29.

The Bulls kept their composure though and kept Marlborough pinned in their own 22 before forcing a knock on and bringing up the full-time whistle.

Not the prettiest game but what could be five crucial points at the end of the season. With so many changes needed you may have expected a lack of cohesion but the boys that stepped in all worked their socks off and made Matt Goode’s next team selection a tricky one. Luke Hallam-Evans, James Page and Will Thurlow were all picked as men of the match. All three put in a fantastic shift in a great team performance.

Match Stats:
Tries: George Ding, Luke Hallam-Evans, Chris Davies, Ed Phillips and James Page
Conversions: James Miller (2)

Speaking to Matt Goode after the game:
22-29, got a bit close at the end their, after ninr changes was it just about trying to secure a result today?
“It was about us utilising our squad. That’s a squad win out there today. It shows the fantastic depth we’ve got here. Nine changes but it didn’t change the way we wanted to play the game at all. Not ideal to have so many players unavailable but the boys that come in all knew our systems and they fitted in perfectly. Shows where this club is currently at and where we’re going.”

Do you think in a weird way last week’s nail biter helped at the end there? No panic, lots of composure shown as Marlborough got closer.
“We always talk about our gameplan, our strategy. Where we need to be in certain situations. The boys know what they’re doing. And now through training where we’re getting very good numbers, we train at a high intensity, we play at a high intensity. When boys are injured, when boys are away, when boys come into the squad, they all know what they’re doing. There’s no panic. Marlborough are class, they’re a good outfit. To come here and get all 5 points, I’m elated.”

Does it say a lot about this club and this team that you’ve got a bit of a club legend like Pagey come in, scores under the posts and every single one of the boys is running over to celebrate with him?
“What a try that was as well. I’m really, really, happy for him. You’ve got someone like Pagey, he’s probably not played first team for 2-3 years, maybe more that. But he’s been playing brilliantly for the 2s. He trains well and then he comes in today and plays well for us as well. You could see how much it meant to all the boys, amazing.”

A week off then a big game versus Oxford Harlequins. Chance to take a step back from rugby or an extra week to prepare for that game?
“Quins is just another game. It’s another game where it’s important to get a result. We looked at Newbury and how we wanted to try and beat them, we looked at Marlborough and beat them. I’ll be selecting a side that will hopefully beat Quins. Is it a big game? It’s as big as the last two have been. It’s as big as the next one. Derby? Well Grove was a derby, Witney was a derby we’re not focusing on that. We want all the support we can get the same as any game because we know how much of a difference that can make. I’ve got some headaches with selection. I’ll be watching how the boys train and let’s see where we’re at.”